A Brief Guide on College Campus Tours

If your child wants to attend an art or design program in college after their senior year then it is in their best interest that you, as a parent, help them get there. The problem is that many parents have no clue on where to start or how to help their child.

At the very start, you’d want to attend college campus tours with your child to see which college is suitable for your child.

Campus Tour (Photo credit: York College of PA)

Karen Kesteloot of PortPrep.com got to talk to Andy Bills, Vice President of Admissions in High Point University, to discuss:

what colleges and universities generally look for in students

what students and parents should do when attending college campus tours

other things that parents and students should consider when choosing a college during campus tours

Video Transcript

Karen: I’m here with Andy Bills, Vice President of Enrollment at High Point University and, Andy, I’d like if you could share with us some advice for parents and students as they’re selecting the school that’s best for their child.

Andy: We’re looking for students who have excelled in high school, especially in the five core subjects. And if they’re interested in majoring in the arts, then we want to look at those subjects as well. We’ll look at possibly a portfolio. We encourage them to visit campus. My advice to students and parents is to not just visit a school and maybe you do that on your first pass. Then when you come back for that second visit, go deeper into your experience – really find out what it’s like to be a student there. Go have lunch on campus, go talk to the students and see how they like the experience. Go sit in on class and talk to the professors.

I’ve set up lots of meetings with students to go talk to the professors here and just see, you know, one on one what it is like – how can they contribute to the life of all the students here on campus. Certainly, the arts is a huge contributor to bettering the life of college campuses and college students.

The experiential learning is molded into every one of our majors. So, interior design, we’re in the virtual capital of the world. We have the largest home furnishings market in the world, right here at our backyard. Two minutes from campus is 10 million square feet of service space. So, our interor design students get to go and network and intern and make connections with the major players in their industries.

And I think it’s important to the student as well. The student wants to feel that they can be very comfortable on the campus they choose. that they look around and they see other students like them, that they say, “You know, I can hang out with these people, I can date one of these people, possibly.” And they will feel very comfortable because we want them to excel here and stay here for four years and graduate and get their degree and have internships, and do things that will lead them to their success.

You need to think of what is the environment that works best for you. Where can you, as a student, thrive? If you’ve come from smaller schools, smaller class houses, or if you are from a big school and you like that big environment and you don’t need that one on one with the teacher, then you can open the door to a large interstate school as well. You just have to understand, do research, and ask questions.

Key Takeaways

3/366: “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston ~ (Photo credit: theunquietlibrarian)

Meet up with professors. Talking to the art instructors will provide you with a deeper insight on how the program works, what the contents in the curriculum are and the different experiences that each students undergoes in the program. You may even sit in on one of their classes to get a feel on how classes are taught in the program.

Ask questions. Lots of them. If you or your child ever need clarifications on anything during your tour then you should never hesitate to ask your guide or professor. Every question counts, especially when your child’s education is at stake.

Help them ace their senior year in high school. Before even thinking about making it to college, your child needs to get the best possible grades in their final year in high school. The higher their grades are in the core subjects, the greater their chances of getting into their school of choice! If they’re having problems with getting good grades in high school, then they need to read “The Biggest Reason Why You Haven’t Gotten Good Grades in High School” and learn which study technique works best for you.

How about you dear reader – what do you think are the things that parents and child should do during college campus tours that haven’t been mentioned above? Share your tips and ideas by commenting below!